Deputy
District Attorney Daniel Feldstern has become the latest candidate to throw his
hat in the ring for a Los Angeles Superior Court seat.

Feldstern,
who took out papers for both of the seats whose present occupants have declared
they would not run, said yesterday he will wait to see how the field shakes out
before committing to a particular race. But he will not be deterred if, as
appears likely, he has to face one or more of his prosecutorial colleagues, he
told the MetNews.

“I
wish all of the other prosecutors well,” he commented. “I hope they succeed,
unless of course they run against me.”

Feldstern
has begun circulating petitions for both Office No. 18 and Office No. 29, the
seats now held by Judges Marcus O. Tucker and Richard C. Hubbell. Both said
last week they would not seek re-election.

Multiple
Opponents

He
faces multiple potential opponents in either race. Superior Court Referee
Mildred Escobedo, Deputy District Attorney Edward Nison, and Superior Court
Research Attorney Kevin Notre have also taken out papers for the Tucker seat;
Deputy District Attorney Patrick David Campbell and Workers’ Compensation Judge
John Gutierrez have indicated their intent to run for the Hubbell seat; and
Deputy District Attorney Judith L. Meyer, the first candidate to announce her
intent to run for an open seat, said she still has not focused on a particular
race.

There
appear to be two other possible openings. Judge Nancy Brown said she is
undecided whether to run, while Judge Chesley N. McKay Jr. has not returned
phone calls seeking comment on persistent rumors he plans to step down.

Deputy
District Attorney Jeffrey Gootman, who works in Lancaster,
has taken out papers to run for McKay’s seat in the event the incumbent does
not run.

Perennial
Candidate

Perennial
candidate Larry H. Layton, an Antelope Valley lawyer who is dean of his own law
school, said he may run this year, but that after losing five bids for the old
Antelope Municipal Court, then losing last year to Antelope Valley-based
prosecutor Richard Naranjo, he does not want to run against McKay, Gootman, or
anyone else from his home area.

Feldstern
said he is prepared to spend $160,000 or more to get elected. His campaign
message, he said, will be that the length and depth of his legal career make
him better qualified than any other potential candidate.

Feldstern
joined the District Attorney’s Office 18 years ago, after two years at the
high-powered family law firm Trope and Trope, and is now the head deputy in Glendale
and Burbank.

His
experience, he noted yesterday, includes death penalty cases, hardcore gang
prosecutions, major narcotics cases, and prosecutions of public officials,
including former Los Angeles Councilman Mike Hernandez, who pled guilty to drug
charges that were later dismissed after he completed a rehabilitation program.

He
also has a background in juvenile law, having been head deputy in Sylmar.

He
is entering the race with the backing of District Attorney Steve Cooley and the
Los Angeles Police Department Command Officers Association and expects to be
endorsed by victims’ rights groups, defense attorneys, and fellow prosecutors,
he said. He also has been under consideration for an appointment by Gov. Gray
Davis.

One
potential opponent, Escobedo, said she will not be able to match the resources
of Feldstern or Nison, who has also vowed a six-figure campaign, but said she
was “going to be in it for the long haul.”

Escobedo,
who was an as-needed referee for three years before gaining a full-time
appointment in January of last year, acknowledged that voters usually prefer
prosecutors to subordinate judicial officers.

“Sometimes
the community foregoes all the other experiences that would make someone a good
judge,” she conceded. But she said that she would, with the help of family and
friends, try to convince voters they would find it “beneficial to have me
become a judge.”